We propose the acquisition of Bruker Optics Hyperion-3000 Imaging/Mapping Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Microscope (total cost $218,797.25) to support interdisciplinary research activities in nanostructured and compositionally graded biomaterials, surgical implant biointegration, and biomaterial/tissue interface analysis at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The proposed FTIR microscope will create a multi-user FTIR microspectroscopy characterization facility in the new Center for Nanoscale Materials and Biointegration (CNMB) housed in the UAB Department of Physics. It will be a critical research tool in three current NIH funded projects (R01 DE013952-04 "Nanotechnology in Osseointegration of Dental TMJ Implants"; R01 EB001715-01A2 NIBIB-BRP "Analysis of in situ cadaveric and explanted surgical implants", and R01 AR51539 "Functionalizing Hydroxyapatite with Proadhesive Peptides"), and several other related projects on biomaterials and biomedical implants that currently involve 12 faculty (7 of whom are co-investigators on this proposal), 4 postdocs, and 15 graduate students in 4 UAB departments, including Physics, Biomedical Engineering, Materials Engineering, and Prosthodontics and Biomaterials. Biomaterials operate in specific environments that lead to complex physical and chemical phenomena at the material surface and in the bulk. The comprehensive knowledge of how the biomaterials are affected by the bioenvironment and interact with it at micro- and nano-scale is required to design the biomaterial systems optimized for a particular application. The proposed Hyperion 3000 FTIR microscope is configured to help us to greatly enhance this understanding by providing sub-10 micron spatial resolution and picogram sensitivity in chemical and biochemical characterization of biomaterial systems and biomaterial/tissue interaction. The microscope has single point and 64x64 focal plane array cooled mercury-cadmium-telluride (MCT) detectors for mapping and imaging, respectively, analyzes area down to 10x10 [unreadable]m2, includes a variety of accessories (attenuated total reflectance and grazing angle objectives, fluorescence, IR- and visible polarizers, X-Y computer controlled stage with positioning accuracy 1 [unreadable]m), and an extensive software package. These parameters and accessories are critical for our current and future research projects. Relevance: The proposed FTIR microspectroscopy facility at UAB CNMB will strongly impact the interdisciplinary research and broader student training (MD, DMD, MS, and PhD residents and students) focused on the synthesis and characterization of nanoscale materials and structures with applicability and integration into the biomedical arena that will position the Center and UAB as a whole to be at the forefront of nanotechnologies and biomaterials for human health. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]